SERMON, 


DELIVERED 


AT    THE    FIJ]\ERAL. 


or     THE 


Reverend    ALrFRED   V.    BASSETT, 


PASTOR    OF   THE  UNITERSAI^IST   SOCIETY    IX    DEDIIAM. 


BY   THOxlIAS    WHITTEMORE. 


BOSTON: 

Printed  and  published  at  the  Trumpet  Office,  40,  Cornhill. 
1832. 


"  Dreadful  Death.  A  mote  melancholy  instance  of  suicide  probably 
never  occurred  in  this  region,  than  that  which  it  is  now  our  painful  duty  to 
record.  The  Rev.  Alfred  V.  Bassett,  Pastor  of  the  Universalist  Society 
in  this  town,  committed  suicide  on  IMonday  night, December  26,  by  cutting  his 
throat  with  a  razor  !  The  following  particulars,  as  we  learn  from  a  friend  of 
the  deceased,  are  substantially  correct.  Mr.  Bassett  had  been  unwell  several 
days  with  the  prevailing  influenza,  and  complained  of  a  pain  in  his  head,  from 
which  it  is  supposed  that  a  fever  on  his  brain  produced  that  derangement  of 
mind  which  caused  him  to  commit  the  fatal  deed.  After  retiring  on  Monday 
night,  he  arose  and  extinguished  the  light,  which  had  been  left  burning  in 
consequence  of  his  illness.  The  individual  who  lodged  with  him,  about  11 
o'clock,  being  aroused  by  the  struggles  and  groans  of  the  deceased,  he  hasten- 
ed to  alarm  the  family,  and  the  poor  man  was  found  lying  on  the  floor, 
struggling  amid  the  agonies  which  thirty  minutes  after  terminated  in  death. 
It  appeared  that  he  had  drawn  the  razor  on  both  sides  of  the  throat,  cutting 
very  deeply  on  the  left  side.  Mr.  Bassett  was  25  years  of  age,  a  native  of 
Atkinson,  N.  H.  and  had  been  settled  in  this  town  two  years.  He  was  a 
young  man  of  respectable  talents,  and  by  his  amiable  manners  and  kind  dis- 
position, had  won  the  esteem  of  many,  who  are  now  called  to  unite  with 
his  relatives  and  friends  in  mourning  his  untimely  exit." — JDedham  Advicalie^ 


\J    \J   \J   tJ  I.IU>llf>i* 


SERMOJY. 

PSAL.MS    XCVII.   1,  2. 

*' The  Lord  reigneth,  let  the  earth  rejoice;  let  the  multitude  of  isles 
he  glad  thereof.  Clouds  and  darkness  are  round  about  him :  right- 
eousness and  judgment  are  the  habitation  of  his  throne.''' 

That  there  is  a  Being  who  created  all  nature,  and 
whom  all  nature  obeys,  icw  persons  deny.  From  the  un- 
tutored savage  in  the  wilderness  up  to  the  profoandest 
pliilosopher — from  the  degraded  Hottentot  to  him  in 
whose  mind  nature  has  displayed  her  most  brilliant  gifts, 
all,  with  rarely  an  exception,  have  acknowledged  the  ex- 
istence of  a  God  of  boundless  power  and  wisdom.  The 
evidences  of  his  existence  appear  all  around  us.  The 
heavens  declare  his  glory,  and  the  firmament  showeth 
forth  his  handy  work.  He  rides  upon  the  whirlwind  and 
directs  the  storm.  The  earth  is  full  of  his  goodness. 
Whicii  way  soever  we  turn  our  eyes,  we  see  the  proofs 
of  his  boundless  power  and  skill.  Wherever  we  com- 
mence to  reason  concerning  the  divine  existence,  the  re- 
sult is  invariably  the  same.  If  we  begin  with  the  mi- 
nutest atom,  with  the  frailest  insect,  with  the  poorest 
specimen  of  human  skill,  we  come  to  the  same  conclusion; 
we  trace  things  irom  effect  to  cause  through  successive 
parts  of  the  great  chain  of  being,  until  the  powers  of  rea- 
son are  suspended,  as  the  only  resting  place,  at  the  cause 
of  all  things — himself  uncaused.     This  is  God. 

In  the  words  laid  before  you  at  this  time  it  is  asserted, 

I.  That  God  governs  the  world.  "  The  Lord  reigneth." 

II.  That  there  are  many  things  in  the  divine  govern- 
ment inscrutable  to  human  wisdom,  the  design  and  end 
of  which  human  wisdom  cannot  see.  "Clouds  and  dark- 
ness are  round  about  him." 

III.  That  notv/ithstanding  "clouds  and  darkness  are 
round  about  him,"  and  human  wisdom  some  times  can- 
not readily  discover  the  reasons  of  the  divine  government, 
yet  there  is  one  thing  of  which  we  may  be  certain,  viz. 
that  righteousness  and  justice  are  mingled  in  all  its  dis- 
pensations.    "  Righteousness  and  judgment  are  the  habi- 


tation  of  his  throne,"  i.  e.  his  throne  is  founded  in  justice 
and  righteousness. 

IV,  The  goveniment  of  God,  wlien  properly  under- 
stood, is  a  source  of  joy  and  gladness.  "  The  Lord  reign- 
eth,  let  the  earth  rejoice;  let  the  multitude  of  isles  be  glad 
thereof." 

That  God  governs  the  world,  is  a  fact  which  will  not 
be  disputed  by  any  one  who  acknowledges  the  divine  ex- 
istence. 1.  The  Bible  asserts  it.  David  says,  "  God  sit- 
teth  upon  the  throne  of  his  holiness."  Psalms  xlvii.  8. 
"  The  Lord  reigneth  ;  he  is  clothed  with  majesty  :  the 
Lord  is  clothed  with  strength,  wherewith  he  hath  girded 
himself,  the  world  also  is  established,  that  it  cannot  be 
moved.  Thy  throne  is  established  of  old,  thou  art  from 
everlasting."  xciii.  1,  2.  2.  The  government  of  God 
over  the  natural  world  is  proved  from  the  order  and  regu- 
larity with  which  every  thing  in  nature  proceeds.  He 
hath  established  fixed  laws,  which  nothing  but  himself 
can  alter.  The  sun,  and  every  part  of  tne  system  be- 
longing to  it,  is  governed  by  those  laws.  He  furnishes 
them  light  and  heat,  as  they  wait  upon  him  to  receive  the 
blessings  he  dispenses.  They  always  move  in  their  prop- 
er orbits,  preserving  their  distances  from  their  common 
centre  and  from  each  other.  No  jar,  no  interruption,  no 
failure  was  ever  known  in  the  vast  machinery  which  God 
hath  made.  How  great  doth  the  Creator  appear,  when 
seen  through  the  medium  of  his  works.  Well  might  Da- 
vid say,  "  when  I  consider  thy  heavens,  the  work  of  thy 
fingers  ;  the  moon  and  the  stars  wliich  thou  hast  ordain- 
ed ;  what  is  man  that  thou  art  mindful  of  him,  and  the 
Son  of  man  that  thou  visitest  iiim  .'"  Psalms  viii-  3,  47 
No  mind  hath  such  views  of  the  majesty  of  the  great 
eternal,  as  that  of  the  man  who  hath  walked  the  fields  of 
science,  and  seen  with  a  philosopher's  eye,  the  displayed 
heavens  above.  The  mind  is  irresistibly  carried  up,  un- 
til it  is  lost  in  the  contemplation  of  boundless  wisdom, 
love  and  power.  The  language  of  the  immortal  poet  is 
fit  to  give  vent  to  the  feelings  which  such  a  scene  is  cal- 
culated to  inspire. 

"  'J'liHse  are  t)iy  glorious  works,  Parent  of  good, 

Aliiiiglily,  tliine  this  Universal  frame. 

Thus  wondrous  fair  ;  thyself  how  wondrous  then, 

L'nsjjeakable  I  who  sitl'st  above  the  heavens, 

To  us  invisible,  or  diniiy  seen 

In  these  tliy  lower  works,      ^'et  these  declare. 

Thy  goodne.ss  beyond  thought,  and  power  divine." 


The  government  of  God  over  the  moral  world,  is  no 
less  certam  than  his  government  over  the  natural  world. 
He   rules   men  an  well  as   things  ;  animate  as  well  as  in- 
animate  matter ;  nor  is  there    less   wisdom  displayed  in 
the  one  than  in  the  other.     "The  Lord  God  omnipotent 
reigneth,"  Rev.  xix.  6.     The   irresistible  government  of 
God  is  expressed  in  the  book  of  Job,  as  follows  :  "  When 
he  giveth  quietness,  who  then  can   make   trouble  .''  and 
when  he  hideth   his  face,   who  then    can   behold  him  .'' 
whether  it  be  done  against  a  nation,  or  against  a  man  on- 
ly." xxxiv.  29.     The  prophet  Daniel  asserts    the  undis- 
puted dominion  of  Jehovah  over  mankind.     "He  doeth 
according  to  his  will  in  the  army  of  heaven,  and   among 
the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  ;  and  none  can  stay  his  hand, 
or  say  unto  him,  what  doest  thou  .^"  iv.  35.     Paul's  lan- 
guage is  of  the  same  import,   when  he  saith,  that  God 
"  worketh  all  things  after  the   counsel  of  his  own  will.'* 
Eph.  i.  11.     There  are  some  who  are  perfectly  willing  to 
admit  the  undivided  dominion  of  Jehovah  overall  the  nat- 
ural world,  but  who  will  not  allow,  what  Daniel  evidently 
declares,  that  he  doeth   according  to  his  will  among  the 
inhabitants  of  the  earth.     We  see  as  little  reason  to  doubt 
the  one  truth  as  the  other.     It  is  thought  there  are   im- 
perfections in  the  moral  system  which  could  not   have 
proceeded  from  the  hand  of  God  ;  sin  presents  an   insu- 
perable obstacle  in  the  way  ;  the  offences  of  men,  wrath, 
hatred,  malice,  murder,   suicide,  misery,  the  sicknesses 
of  little  children,  the  afflictions  of  the  righteous, — all  these 
things  are  so  many  evidences,  that  though    God  reigns  in 
the   natural   world,  he  cannot  be  said,   except  in  some 
qualified  sense,  to  reign  in  the  moral  world.     But  people 
arrive  at  this  conclusion,  as  we  think,  because  they  sepa- 
rate the  great  ends  and  purposes  of  divine  government 
from  the  means  by  which  they  are  produced.     What  they 
call  imperfection  is  order  ;  and  judged  to  be  imperfection 
by  them,  because  they  do  not  connect  with  it  the  ultimate 
design  of  God  in  ordaining  it.     They  reason  from  a  part 
of  the  system  only.     They  would  arrive  at  the  same  re- 
sult in  regard  to  the  natural  system,  if  they  reasoned 
concerning  it  in  the  same  manner,  supposing  a  part  to  be 
the  whole,  or  judging  of  means  disconnected  from  the 
ends  to  be  produced  by  them  ;  and  by  this  process  of  rea- 
soning it  would  at  last  come  outj  that  God  doth  not  reign 
at  all,  either  in  the  natural  or  moral  world.     Such  a  con- 
clusion as  this  would  differ  from  Atheism  in  nothing  but  a 


name  ;  and  it  would  leave  man,  like  the  mariner  without 
compass  or  helm,  to  be  tossed  upon  the  boundless  ocean 
of  chance.  But  the  text  declares  that  the  Lord  reigns; 
and  it  means  in  the  moral  system,  since  men  are  called 
for  this  reason  to  rejoice  and  be  glad. 

II.  The  text  justifies  the  conclusion,  that  there  are 
some  things  in  the  divine  government  which  are  dark  and 
inscrutable,  the  design  and  end  of  which  human  wis- 
dom sometimes  i  ails  to  see.  "Clouds  and  darkness  are 
round  about  him."  The  figure  here  is  beautiful.  It  rep- 
resents the  throne  of  Jehovah  as  being  hidden  from  men's 
sight — it  is  enveloped  in  clouds  and  in  darkness  ;  but 
there  is  no  less  a  throne  because  men  cannot  see  it. 
Sometimes  we  cannot  see  the  sun  ;  yet  none  but  a  mad- 
man would  think  of  doidDting  the  existence  of  that  bright 
orb,  because  "clouds  and  darkness  were  round  about 
him." 

In  all  ages  of  the  world  there  have  been  men  who 
have  been  unreconciled  to  the  will  of  Jehovah,  who  could 
not  see  the  propriety  and  justice  of  the  divine  administra- 
tion. To  them  the  throne  of  God  was  enveloped  in 
"  clouds  and  darkness."  Jacob  complained  unto  Pharaoh, 
that  i'ew  and  evil  had  the  days  of  the  years  of  his 
life  been.  When  his  children  were  taken  away,  and  car- 
ried into  Egypt,  he  repined  against  the  will  of  heaven, 
and  said  "all  these  things  are  against  me."  None  are  so 
liable  to  mistake  the  dealings  of  God,  and  misunderstand 
his  government  ol'  the  world,  as  those  who  are  atllicted 
with  a  constitutional  melancholy.  They  see  every  thing 
through  their  dim  and  diseased  vision  ;  and  all  the  world 
seems  to  bear  the  color  which  rests  only  on  the  medium 
of  their  sight.  Cowper,  the  celebrated  English  poet,  was 
a  man  precisely  of  this  character.  Endowed  with  a 
great  genius,  a  rich  fancy,  the  rarest  talents,  it  was  his 
misfortune,  humanly  speaking,  to  be  always  viewing  the 
dark  side  of  earthly  affairs.  That  theology  which  places 
upon  the  throne  of  the  universe  an  implacable  tyrant,  was 
congenial  with  the  gloominess  of  his  soul,  and  he  em- 
braced it.  Throughout  his  life  he  was  in  constant  fear 
that  God  would  snatch  him  from  the  earth,  and  plunge  him 
into  eternal  sorrow.  Such  a  state  of  mind  unfitted  him 
either  for  living  or  dying.  He  gave  up  all  temporal  con- 
cerns, and  once  or  twice  was  saved  from  suicide  by  a  mere 
accident.  There  are  snany,  who  though  not  driven  to 
the  same  extent  of  sorrow,  find  it  very  difficult  to  account 


for  what  they  regard  as  imperfections  in  the  divine  g"OT- 
ernment,  or,  in  other  words,  as  things  over  which  the 
Deity  has  no  control. 

The  prevalence  of  vice  in  the  world  they  find  it  difficult 
to  reconcile  with  the  divine  rectitude  and  benevolence. 

The  sickness  and  pains  of  the  good,  more  particularly 
of  innocent  infants,  who  sutler  every  moment  they 
breathe,  they  regard  witli  the  same  objections. 

The  mental  afflictions  of  many  are  very  keen.  They 
mourn  over  sin,  and  tiie  distresses  of  mankind;  the  more 
benevolent  their  hearts,  the  more  they  softer:  the  sorrows 
of  the  parent  for  a  prodigal  son,  or  a  dissolute  daughter, 
which  are  even  worse  than  death  itself,  these  are  things 
which  some  regard  as  subject  to  like  objections. 

The  prostration  of  the  finest  minds  by  insanity,  where- 
by persons  have  been  lelt  to  drag  out  a  miserable  exist- 
ence, the  anxiety  of  all  their  friends,  or  in  an  unsuspected 
moment  to  lay  hands  upon  themselves,  and  hurry  them- 
selves from  the  earth;  these  things  are  objected  to  in  the 
same  manner. 

Lastly,  the  death  of  our  most  promising  friends,  the  ex- 
amples of  society  and  the  comfort  of  all  around  them  ; 
the  beloved  son,  the  support  and  joy  of  aged  parents  ;  the 
faithful  pastor,  around  whom  the  affections  of  his  parish 
had  clung,  like  the  tendrils  of  the  vine,  (a  solemn  proof  of 
which  we  see  before  us  this  day)  such  things  some  regard 
as  imperfections  in  the  divine  government,  or  as  things 
which  God  did  not  ordain.  To  such  people,  "  clouds  and 
darkness"  are  round  about  the  throne  of  God  ;  they  can- 
not see  in  what  way  good  can  possibly  result  from  them  ; 
and  they  cry  out  in  their  anguish,  with  the  aged  patri- 
arch, "All  these  things  are  against  us."  This  brings 
me  to  notice, 

III.  That  notwithstanding  clouds  and  darkness  are 
round  about  Jehovah,  and  human  wisdom  sometimes  can- 
not discover  the  reasons  of  the  divine  government,  yet 
there  is  one  thing  of  which  we  may  be  certain,  viz.  that 
righteousness  and  judgment  are  mingled  in  all  its  dispen- 
sations. This  consoling  truth — this,  the  richest  of  all 
assurances,  is  given  in  the  text :  "  Righteousness  and 
judgment  are  the  habitation  of  his  throne." 

In  proof  of  this,  my  friends,  we  have  tlie  word  of  God. 
^'He  shall  judge  the  people  righteously,"  "He  shall 
judge  the  world  in  righteousness."  Aside  from  distinct 
declarations  of  the  fact,  we  may  infer  it  with  certainty 


8 

from  the  well  known  beneficence  of  the  divine  nature. 
God  is  merciful,  and  just,  and  good.  "  God  is  love,"  and 
love  worketh  no  ill.  "  Tiie  Lord  is  good  to  all,  and  his 
tender  mercies  are  over  all  his  works."  It  is  said  by  one 
of  the  prophets,  that  he  "  will  not  cast  off  forever.  That 
though  he  cause  grief,  yet  will  he  have  compassion  ac- 
cording to  the  multitude  of  his  mercies;  for  he  doth  not 
afflict  willingly  nor  grieve  the  children  of  men."  It  is 
declared  by  another  prophet,  that  ''he  delighteth  in 
mercy."  Now  it  is  not  possible  that  a  being  of  whom  all 
this  can  be  truly  said  can  permit  evil  to  afflict  his  crea- 
tures, without  designing  their  good  by  it.  Again,  we 
know  from  human  experience,  that  the  afflictions  which 
men  suffer  on  earth  are  desigtied  for  their  good.  The  af- 
flictions suffered  by  the  Psalmist,  he  expressly  assures  us 
resulted  in  ])roducing  his  good.  The  case  of  Jacob,  to 
which  we  have  already  referred,  most  beautifully  illus- 
trates the  doctrine  for  which  we  are  now  contending. 
His  favorite  son  Joseph,  as  he  in  his  ignorance  supposed, 
had  been  devoured  by  wild  beasts.  When  his  sons  went 
down  to  Egypt  for  sustenance,  a  stern  ruler  demanded 
that  they  should  return  and  bring  their  youngest  brother  ; 
and  seizing  Simeon,  he  bound  and  retained  him  as  a 
hostage,  until  the  younger  came.  When  Jacob  hears  of 
this,  he  bursts  forth  in  the  following  pathetic  lamentation: 
"Jlfe  have  ye  bereaved  of  my  children:  Joseph  is  not ^  and 
Simeon  is  not^  and  ye  will  take  Benjamin  away.  Jill  these  things 
are  against  me."  But  my  brethren,  what  was  the  cause 
of  this  repining  against  the  allotments  of  Providence  .'' 
Jacob  did  not  know,  that  righteousness  and  justice  were 
mingled  in  these  dispensations,  which  seen  by  his  feeble 
sight,  appeared  so  detrimental  to  his  peace.  He  did  not 
know  that  the  hand  of  God  was  conducting  the  whole  to 
advance  his  happiness.  His  blindness  was  the  cause  of 
his  sorrow — clouds  and  darkness  hid  the  throne  of  God 
from  his  sight ;  he  did  not  see  the  divine  agency  in  any  of 
these  events.  But  when  the  light  of  truth  chased  the 
darkness  and  the  clouds  away,  his  bosom  thrilled  with 
joy — a  joy  he  was  obliged  to  ascribe  to  the  events  he  at 
first  so  sincerely  deprecated.  That  son  who  he  thought 
had  been  devoured  by  wild  beasts,  was  lord  of  Egypt. 
That  stern  ruler  who  demanded  Benjamin,  and  seized 
Simeon  as  a  hostage,  was  the  beloved  Joseph  himself 
That  Benjamin  who  was  torn  away  from  his  father's 
bleeding  heart,  went  down  to  Egypt  only  to  hear  this  ru- 


ler  declare,  "lam  Joseph:  cloth  my  father  yet  live?"  He 
who  went  down  to  Eg-ypt  a  slave  in  the  eyes  of  his  breth- 
ren, went  as  an  angel  in  the  sight  of  God,  to  prepare  a 
resting  place  for  the  family,  and  to  save  much  people 
alive.  This  was  the  history  of  Joseph  as  written  on  the 
throne  of  God,  which  Jacob  saw  when  the  "  clouds  and 
darkness"  round  about  it  were  dispelled. 

I  cannot  refrain  from  referring  once  more  to  the  history 
of  the  celebrated  poet  whom  I  have  already  named,  to 
whom  the  dispensations  of  heaven,  except  in  a  few  lucid 
intervals,  were  sources  of  disquietude  and  indescribable 
anguish.  He  felt  what  every  man  must  feel,  who  supposes 
that  an  implacable  and  cruel  tyrant  sits  upon  the  throne 
of  the  universe.  I  have  read  of  him,  that  on  one  occasion 
he  formed  the  resolution  to  destroy  his  life.  He  called  a 
carriage,  and  rode  to  London  bridge,  with  the  intention 
of  throwing  himself  into  the  Thames.  So  many  persons 
were  passing  at  the  time,  that  he  found  it  impracticable. 
He  took  a  seat  in  another  vehicle,  and  ordered  to  be 
driven  to  an  apothecary,  of  whom  he  purchased  a  phial 
of  poison,  which  he  laid  beside  him,  with  the  intention  of 
returning  immediately  to  his  chamber,  and  swallowing  it. 
On  alighting  he  looked  for  his  phial  and  found  it  broken, 
the  contents  gone.  The  clouds  were  for  a  moment  dis- 
pelled, and  he  saw  the  throne  of  God,  and  read  righleous- 
ness  and  justice  inscribed  there — he  saw  the  hand  of  God 
in  this  event;  and  he  went  to  his  chamber,  and  wrote  that 
inimitable  hymn,  which,  if  nothing  else  had  been  left, 
would  have  handed  down  his  name  to  posterity. 

God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way 
His  wonders  to  perform, 
He  marks  his  footstep:!  in  the  sea, 
And  rides  upon  the  storm. 

Deep  in  unfathomable  mines 
Of  never  failing  akill, 
'  He  treasures  up  his  bright  designs, 

And  works  hia  sovereign  will. 

Ye  fearful  saints,  fresh  courage  take 
The  clouds  you  so  much  dread, 
Are  big  with  rnercy  and  shall  break. 
In  blessings  on  your  head. 

Judge  not  the  Lord  by  feeble  sense, 
But  trnst  him  for  his  grace. 
Behind  a  frowing  Providence 
He  hides  a  smiling  face. 
2 


10 

IT  is  purposes  will  ripen  fast, 
Unfoldiiig  every  hour, 
The  bud  may  have  a  bitter  taste 
Rut  sweet  will  be  the  flower. 

Blind  unbelief  is  sure  to  err, 
And  scan  his  work  in  vain, — 
God  is  his  own  interpreter. 
And  he  will  make  it  plain. 

I  do  not  quote  this  for  the  sake  of  amusing"  my  hearers 
with  poetry,  but  to  administer  the  consolation  with  which 
it  abounds.  Neither  do  I  refer  to  the  case  of  the  unhap- 
py author,  because  I  think  it  in  all  respects  parallel  to 
that  of  our  dearly  beloved  brother  whose  sudden  death 
has  called  us  together;  but  to  illustrate  the  truth  of  the 
text,  that  to  some  clouds  and  darkness  are  round  about 
the  throne  of  God,  but  that  it  is  true,  that  righteousness 
and  justice  are  the  habitation  thereof. 

IV.  The  government  of  God  when  properly  understood, 
is  a  source  of  joy  and  gladness.  This  is  a  fact  plainly  as- 
serted in  the  text:  "The  Lord  reigneth,  let  the  earth  re- 
joice; let  the  muUitude  of  isles  be  glad  thereof.''^  For  what 
reason  shall  the  earth  rejoice  .''  Because  the  Lord  reign- 
eth. For  what  reason  shall  the  multitude  of  isles  be  glad.'' 
Because  the  Lord  reigneth.  The  Lord  hath  undivided 
dominion — the  Lord  leigneth  in  the  natural  and  in  the 
moral  world.  He  doth  not  share  the  government  of  the 
world  with  a  semi-omnipotent  adversary.  What  is  done 
the  Lord  hath  done. 

But  why  is  the  government  of  God  a  source  of  joy  and 
gladness  ?  Is  it  because  he  permits  sin,  and  death,  and 
misery  to  exist  ?  No,  for  if  these  were  the  ends  of  his 
government,  instead  of  gladness  and  joy,  we  should  have 
anguish  indescribable  at  the  thought  that  he  reigned. 
Wily  then  is  the  government  of  God  a  source  of  joy  and 
gladness .''  Ans.  because  he  overrules  all  events  for 
good — because  benevolence  is  infused  into  every  dispen- 
sation of  his  Providence — because  nothing  takes  place 
without  his  wise  permission — and  because  he  never  per- 
mits any  thing  but  what  he  will  overrule  for  the  benefit  of 
mankind.  There  are  events  which  will  cause  ns  sorrow, 
when  we  disconnect  them  from  the  great  purpose  of  God, 
and  view  them  as  Jacob  viewed  the  absence  of  his  beloved 
son  ;  but  when,  like  him,  we  see  the  whole  purpose  of 
God,  when  we  see  the  marks  of  the  divine  hand  on  every 
event,  like  him  we  shall  rejoice.     "The  Lord  reigneth, 


11 

let  the  earth  rejoice."  And  here  let  it  be  observed  that 
it  is  the  earth,  the  ichole  earth,  tlmt  is  called  on  to  rejoice — 
it  is  the  multitude  o(  the  isles  that  are  called  on  to  be  glad 
because  the  Lord  reigiieth.  You  see  from  this  at  once, 
that  the  divine  purpose  embraces  the  everlasting  good 
of  «// mankind;  for  why  should  the  whole  earth  be  called 
on  to  rejoice  at  the  reign  of  God,  if  that  reign  is  to  result 
in  the  endless  destruction  of  a  part?  We  cannot  rejoice 
at  our  eternal  ruin  ;  and  if  the  government  of  God  shall 
end  in  the  eternal  ruin  of  any  part,  the  smallest  part,  of 
the  creatures  God  has  made,  it  were  mockery  to  call  on 
the  whole  earth  to  rejoice  because  God  reigned.  In  such 
a  case,  that  would  be  what  would  prevent  the  earth  from 
rejoicing.  God  "  will  have  all  men  to  be  saved  ;"  1  Tim. 
ii.  4.  and  he  ''worketh  all  things  after  the  counsel  of 
that  will."  Eph.  i:  11.  Every  thing,  every  thing  is  con- 
spiring, in  heaven  above,  and  on  earth  beneath  to  that 
great  result.  How  reasonable  then  the  words  of  the  text, 
"  The  Lord  reigneth,  let  the  earth  rejoice."  I  should  be 
glad  to  pursue  this  sul)ject  yet  liirther  ;  but  I  am  admon- 
ished to  pass  to  a  more  direct  reference  to  the  soleuin 
event  which  has  called  us  together. 

Our  brother,  whose  voice  was  heard  on  the  last  sab- 
bath within  these  walls,  is  no  more  on  earth.  His  cold 
clay  is  brought  to  that  place  where  his  lovely  forn)  so  of- 
ten hath  been  seen.  His  congregation  who  have  listened 
with  the  deepest  attention  to  his  accents  of  love  and  sal- 
vation, now  come  to  drop  a  tear  upon  iiis  shroud.  The 
family  with  which  he  resided,  the  relatives  i'rom  a  dis- 
tance, and  one  whose  case  exceeds  in  tenderness  the  rest, 
and  whose  fond  expectations  have  been  dashed  in  a  mo- 
ment to  the  ground — these  have  all  come  to  mingle  their 
sorrows  and  their  prayers.  The  choir  who  chanted  songs 
of  praise  at  his  ordination  to  the  cliristian  ministry,  have 
sung  his  funeral  dirge.  We,  his  ministering  brethren, 
who  loved  him  for  his  amiableness  and  his  virtues,  who 
prized  him  for  his  talents,  who  doated  upon  him  for  his 
usefulness,  and  who  in  his  consecration  laid  our  hands 
upon  him,  have  now  come  to  lay  our  hands  upon  his 
pall,  and  discharge  the  last  office  that  men  can  do  for  one 
another.  Solemn,  solemn  beyond  description,  is  this 
scene.  I  entreat  the  society,  the  family  with  which  he 
died,  the  relatives,  this  whole  assembly,  to  accept  the 
consolations  afforded  by  the  subject  I  have  endeavored  to 
discuss.     Believing  that  God  reigns — that  thoug-h  clouds 


12 

and  darkness  are  round  about  him,  yet  justice  and  rig-ht- 
eousness  are  the  habitation  of  his  throne;  and  let  this  as- 
suage a  sorrow  that  otherwise  could  not  be  mitigated. 

I  trust  I  shall  be  pardoned  if  I  refer  to  the  melancholy 
means  by  which  oiu'  dearly  beloved  brother  came  to  his 
end.  It  is  natural  to  inquire  for  the  cause  of  an  event  so 
utterly  unexpected,  the  intelligence  of  which  carried 
astonishment  to  every  heart.  He  had  for  a  long  time 
been  alilicted  with  a  disease,  which  I  am  not  competent  to 
de-cribe,  and  which,  more  than  a  year  since,  he  informed 
me  would  probably  bring  him  to  his  grave.  How  far  this 
had  an  influence  on  the  means  of  his  death,  I  will  not  pre- 
tend to  say.  Once  or  twice  of  late,  in  my  intercourse 
with  him,  I  had  perceived  that  his  conversation  and  state- 
ments slightly  approached  the  marvellous;  and  I  dis- 
tinctly recollect  telling  him,  a  few  weeks  since,  that  he 
was  insane,  although  all  I  meant  by  it  at  the  time  was, 
that  his  language  was  extravagant.  He  had  been  afHict- 
ed,  very  severely  afflicted,  for  two  or  three  weeks  previous 
to  his  death,  with  the  prevailing  epidemic,  which  tended 
greatly  to  increase  the  disease  of  his  head,  and  to  render 
the  pains  to  which  he  had  become  accustomed  by  long 
suffering,  excruciating  almost  beyond  endurance.  On 
Sunday  last,  although  his  inability  would  have  excused 
him,  his  zeal  for  the  cause  he  had  espoused  brought  him 
to  this  house,  and  he  performed,  I  know  not  how  vigo- 
rously, the  regular  services.  His  diseases  on  Monday 
were  of  a  more  aggravated  character;  and  he  supposed 
himself  on  that  afternoon  to  have  had  a  fit,  as  he  realized 
that  he  had  been  in  a  state  of  insensibility  into  which  he 
had  been  thrown  when  no  person  was  with  him.  The  sen- 
sations of  his  brain  were  imusual ;  and  he  attempted  a  de- 
scription of  the  strange  feelings  in  his  head  to  one  of  the 
members  of  the  family.  This  plain,  unvarnished  state- 
ment contains  all  we  know  of  his  case.  The  strong  pro- 
bability is,  that  he  awoke  during  an  aberation  of  reason; 
and  lor  the  conduct  of  men  when  the  powers  of  intellect 
are  prostrated,  we  cannot  account.  That  he  was  not 
jiossessed  of  reason  when  the  fatal  act  was  done,  is  as 
certain,  in  my  apprehension,  as  inference  can  make  any 
tiling.  He  had  every  thing  earth  could  ailbrd  to  render 
him  happy.  In  his  pecuniary  concerns  there  was  nothing 
to  make  him  uneasy.  By  his  relatives  he  was  regarded 
^vith  the  sincerest  affection.  The  society  with  which  he 
labored,  erred  only  in  loving  him  too  well,  and  setting 


13 

their  hearts  too  much  upon  him.  The  family  in  a  neig-h- 
boring  town,  in  which  the  affections  of  his  early  manhood 
centered,  more  than  respected  him  ;  and  while  they  were 
waitino-  his  dad  entrance  to  their  dwelling,  the  messen- 
ger  came  to  announce  his  sudden  death.  His  ministering 
brethren  loved  him  ;  and  I  have  already  declared,  that 
they  prized  him  for  his  talents,  and  doated  upon  him  for 
his  usefulness.  In  addition  to  the  respect  which  we  felt 
for  him  as  a  young  man  of  more  than  ordinary  ability,  his 
amiableness  excited  a  tender  regard  that  adds  too  greatly 
to  the  poignancy  of  our  sorrows  on  the  present  occasion. 
None  of  tliese  circumstances  which  I  have  now  stated 
were  hidden  from  him  ;  he  must  have  been  fully  aware 
of  them  all.  The  event  of  his  death  therefore,  must  be 
attributed  to  an  alienation  of  mind,  which  his  complicated 
diseases  had  produced. 

In  the  sorrow  which  this  event  has  occasioned,  you 
all  participate — it  has  wrung  your  hearts  with  an  inde- 
scribable anguish.  Not  only  this  society,  not  only  the 
relatives,  not  only  his  particular  friends,  not  only  his  min- 
istering brethren,  but  all  that  ever  knew  him,  whether 
friends  or  opponents  in  religion,  will  sympathise  with  us 
in  our  sorrows  this  day.  But  among  the  multitude  op- 
pressed with  gloom,  I  see  two  or  three  who  are  whisper- 
ing, "it  was  his  doctrine  that  drove  him  to  this.  Here 
we  see  the  dreadful  effects  of  the  sentiments  he  has  de- 
fended." The  sentiment  of  our  beloved  brother  was, 
that  the  Lord  reigneth  ;  and  this  conviction  led  him  to 
rejoice.  Does  any  one  believe  that  a  firm  trust  in  God's 
goodness,  a  belief  that  all  our  earthly  afflictions  will 
be  overruled  for  good — that  the  Lord  is  good  to  all  and 
that  his  tender  mercies  are  over  all  his  works, will  make  a 
man  unhappy,  and  unreconciled  to  God  .''  The  thought  is 
preposterous.  No  one  who  ever  believed  this  sentiment 
will  suppose  it  can  make  a  man  sick  of  life  ;  and  those 
who  believe  it  know  the  influence  of  it  better  than  those 
who  do  not.  The  deceased  was  heard  to  say,  but  a  short 
time  before  his  death,  that  he  should  prefer  to  suffer  the 
heaviest  lot  of  human  ills,  while  blessed  with  the  consola- 
tions of  Universalism,  rather  than  possess  all  the  earth 
could  afford,  and  believe  in  the  horrid  doctrines  of  the 
Calvinistic  creed. 

Again,  it  has  been  said,  that  our  departed  brother  had 
been  convicted  of  the  falsity  of  his  doctrine  at  the  late 
four-days  meeting  in  this  place  ;  and  that  the  thought  of 


14 

having  been  engaged  in  preaching  error,  drove  him  to 
desperation  and  death.  These  misguided  sectaries  are 
blind,  or  they  would  see  that  they  had  refuted  themselves. 
For  how,  if  the  man  had  been  brought  to  see  the  falsity 
of  his  doctrine,  and  had  been  driven  to  desperation  by  the 
thought  of  having  preached  error,  how  we  say,  in  that 
case,  can  it  be  true,  that  the  influence  of  Universalism 
caused  the  deed  ?  Men  must  be  driven  on  by  a  blind  fa- 
tuity, who  are  the  authors  of  an  absurdity  so  highly  pre- 
posterous. It  is  true  that  our  friend  attended  the  late 
four-days  meeting  in  this  village  ;  and  it  is  also  true  that 
he  came  home  dissatisfied  with  what  he  saw  and  heard  ; 
and  that  he  hath  left  us  his  testimony,  almost  his  dy- 
ing testimony,  against  such  meetings,  and  the  doctrines 
inculcated  at  them.  I  have  already  referred  to  the  cir- 
cumstance, that  on  the  last  Sabbah,  depressed  by  sickness, 
with  an  imprudence  that  his  zeal  only  can  pardon,  he  per- 
formed the  regular  services  in  this  house.  It  was  the 
25ih  of  December,  the  supposed  anniversary  of  our  Sa- 
viour's birth.  His  sermon  in  tlie  morning  was  a  happy 
reference  to  that  event,  from  tlie  words  of  the  angel,  Matt, 
i.  21,  "thou  shalt  call  his  name  Jesus,  for  lie  shall  save 
his  people  from  their  sins."  In  proposing  his  subject,  he 
said,  "  There  are  two  points  of  doctrine  which  demand 
our  attention,  and  embrace  the  whole  subject  of  our  dis- 
course :  1.  Who,  or  liow  many,  are  Jesus's  people.'' 
2.  Will  he  through  the  power  of  God  completely  perform 
the  work  of  saving  his  people  from  their  sins  .'"'  He  pro- 
ceeded to  show  that  all  people  belong  to  Christ,  and 
brought  forward  a  full  share  of  quotations  from  the  word 
of  God  to  prove  that  fact.  On  the  second  part  of  the  divis- 
ion,— "will  Jesus  accomplish  the  purpose  of  his  mission," 
he  was  peculiarly  happy.  He  said,  "should  any  one 
doubt  this,  let  him  seriously  inquire,  what  is  there  to  hin- 
der the  salvation  of  the  world  .''  Would  a  good  man,  who 
hates  sin,  and  loves  righteousness,  throw  obstacles  to  the 
way  }  Would  holy  angels  .''  Would  Christ  Jesus  himself.'' 
Would  Almighty  God  ?  No  :  God  wills  all  shall  be  saved, 
in  conformity  to  which  Christ  came  to  save  them  :  angels 
rejoiced  when  the  Saviour  was  born:  the  saints  in  heaven 
are  glad  when  the  sinner  turns  from  his  sins  :  and  saints 
on  earth  pray  that  all  may  turn  to  the  Lord,  and  obey 
him  in  righteouness"  In  concluding  he  said,  "we  may 
rest  assured  that  Christ  will  save  his  people  from  their 
sins,  which  people  are  all  mankind."   On  the  afternoon  he 


15 

preached  his  last  sermon.  It  wns  from  the  words  of  Jere- 
miah, Lamen.  iii.  39.  "Wherefore  doth  a  livinsf  man 
complain,  a  man  for  the  punishment  of  his  sins  ?"  In  this 
sermon  he  says,  "we  think  the  scriptures,  when  properly 
understood,  no  where  teach  the  doctrine  of  endless  mise- 
ry, therefore,  we  do  not  feel  it  our  duty  to  preach  it. 
But  we  feel  it  our  duty  to  preach  against  it,  as  an  error 
which  has  been  the  occasion  of  more  mischief  and  misery 
in  the  world,  than  all  others  together."  These  quot-ations 
from  his  last  two  sermons,  fully  and  unanswerably  settle 
the  character  of  the  report  which  has  been  put  into  cir- 
culation . 

I  am  warned  by  the  lensjth  of  time  I  have  occupied,  to  bring 
this  service  to  a  close.  What  shall  I  say  to  the  mourning  rela- 
tives here  present  ?  I  stand  too  much  in  need  of  consolation 
myself  to  discharge  faithfully  the  duty  of  dispensing  it  to  others. 
I  know  that  one  of  the  kindest  of  sons  has  fallen — a  generous, 
faithful  brother.  To  allude  to  the  situation  of  one  whose  hopes 
and  heart  were  bound  up  in  the  welfare  of  the  deceased,  and 
who  comes  to  this  house  afflicted  and  broken  down,  is  a  duty 
that  my  weak  heart  disqualifies  me  to  perform.  I  commend  the 
mourners  one  and  all  to  the  consolations  of  the  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ.  The  family  in  whose  bosom  the  awful  event  occurred, 
deserves  our  sincerest  sympathy  and  commisseration.  I  pray 
God  to  reward  them  for  all  their  sacrifices  in  the  great  cause  of 
universal  love,  and  for  their  labors  and  services  since  the  solemn 
transaction. 

I  cannot  persuade  myself  to  close,  without  addressing  a  few 
words  to  the  members  of  the  society  in  this  place.  Brethren,  I 
have  been  with  you  in  your  joys,  I  am  now  with  you  in  your 
sorrows  :  I  found  you  faithful  then,  I  hope  to  find  you  faithful 
now.  You  have  met  with  a  great  loss.  In  him  whose  death  you 
mourn,  you  were  all  united ;  and  you  never  cherished  in  regard 
to  him  any  other  fear,  than  that  you  should  lose  his  labors.  This 
fear  has  come  upon  you  in  ten  fold  severity.  Your  faith  blooms 
the  most  brightly  when  darkness  reigns  around.  Remember  the 
last  sermons  your  departed  pastor  preached.  I  know  you  can- 
not refrain  from  mourning,  but  you  must  not  despond.  God 
will  send  you  another  pastor,  and  fill  the  breach  he  has  wisely 
broken  down.  Let  this  event  bind  you  the  more  closely  to- 
gether. Every  one  must  fill  his  place,  and  do  his  duty,  and 
your  prosperity  cannot  be  hindered.  Your  ministering  brethren 
will  stand  ready  to  assist  you,  in  every  way  consistent  with  their 
paramount  duties  to  the  societies  with  which  they  are  connected. 


16 

Brethren,  be  united,  love  one  another, — let  the  tears  that  are 
shed  on  this  occasion  cement  you  together  in  one  body.  Be 
sober,  be  vigilant.  Be  stedfast,  unmoveable,  always  abounding 
in  the  works  of  the  Lord. 

I  trust  this  assembly  will  see  in  passing  events,  a  lesson  on  the 
instability  of  human  hopes,  on  the  vicisitudes  of  life,  the  uncer- 
tain nature  of  earthly  things,  and  the  necessity  of  setting  their 
affections  on  truth,  and  virtue,  and  immortality.  Lord,  teach  us 
so  to  nufliiber  our  days,  that  we  may  incline  our  hearts  unto 
\visdom.  Turn  our  feet-  to  thy  testimonies,  lead  us  in  the  way 
of  life,  and  at  last  bless  us,  and  ali  mankind,  with  incorruption 
and  immortality,  through  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord  and  Sa- 
viour, Amen.  -^-^^ 


m'^ 


